Kyiv, Ukraine
Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday said that Russia was using a network of suppliers to evade international sanctions designed to prevent it from making missiles and other weapons.
In a video address, Zelenskiy said unnamed countries and companies were helping Russia acquire technology with the emphasis on producing missiles. Russia has launched hundreds of missiles against Ukrainian targets since last October.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to the media at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on 14th May, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch
“Unfortunately, the terrorist state manages to use the technologies of the world through a network of suppliers, manages to bypass international sanctions,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine, Zelenskiy added, was well aware of all of Russia’s efforts to evade sanctions and will seek to ensure that “there are no products of the free world in Russian missiles”.
In April, a senior Zelenskiy aide said Ukrainian forces were finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine as Western supplies are squeezed by sanctions. China has denied sending military equipment to Russia.
His comments come as the Ukrainian military on Sunday renewed its plea for operational silence around a long-awaited counter-offensive against Russian forces, the latest in a stream of messages by Kyiv as it prepares for the assault.
Anticipation has mounted around what is expected to be a broad attack by Ukrainian forces to retake Russian-occupied territory in the east and south.
But Ukrainian officials have repeatedly discouraged public speculation over the operation, saying it could help the enemy.
Authorities in recent days have also cracked down on citizens sharing images or footage of air defence systems shooting down Russian missiles.
“Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the start,” the ministry said in a video posted to official Telegram channels, apparently referring to the counter-offensive.
The sleekly-produced footage featured masked and well-armed front-line troops holding their fingers against their lips, gesturing for silence amid the distant rumble of artillery and gunfire.
It ended with images of soaring F-16 fighter jets – long coveted by Kyiv as it seeks to boost its air defence against Russian missiles and drones.
A Ukrainian military helicopter takes off to carry out a mission, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, during military drills in the north of Ukraine, on 1st June, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Gleb Garanich/File photo
Kyiv’s Western allies in recent months have provided weapons, armour and ammunition for the counter-offensive, which military experts have said could prove difficult against dug-in Russian forces.
In an interview published on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv was prepared for the operation but avoided making any predictions.
“To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “But we are going to do it, and we are ready.”
Other senior officials, including Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, have similarly sought to tamp down expectations.
In some cases, however, the military has also fed the anticipation. Social media outreach by Kyiv has often been intended to intimidate the Kremlin.
Last week, it posted a flashy video depicting troops preparing for battle and reciting a rousing blessing, which was later aired as a recruiting clip.
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In other news on Sunday, a pro-Ukraine group of Russian partisans said it had captured several soldiers during a cross-border raid into southern Russia and would hand them over to Ukrainian authorities.
The Russian Volunteer Corps made the claim in a video statement released on Telegram in the wake of a raid into the Russian region of Belgorod. The Corps, along with fighters from the Freedom of Russia Legion, has claimed responsibility for a spate of attacks inside Russian territory, including last week when Moscow said two civilians were killed during fighting.
The one minute and 26 second video clip showed what appeared to be around a dozen Russian soldiers being held captive, with two lying on hospital beds. The Freedom of Russia Legion released the same video on its Telegram channel.
The Corps said earlier it had taken two soldiers prisoner. A man from the group, who did not give his name, said more Russians were captured during the course of the day.
Members of the Russian Volunteer Corps are seen, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the Russian border, in Ukraine, on 24th May, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Viacheslav Ratynskyi/File photo,
The Governor of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, earlier agreed to meet the group if the soldiers were still alive. The Corps member in the video said Gladkov had not turned up at the designated meeting place.
“We have already decided the fate of these guys. They will be transferred to the Ukrainian side for the exchange procedure,” said the man.
Ukraine and Russia have carried out regular prisoner swaps.
The man said he had just returned from the Russian town of Novaya Tavolzhanka, where Gladkov had earlier reported fighting with that he called a group of “Ukrainian saboteurs”.
Russia’s defence ministry later said its forces had broken up the group, driving its fighters back into Ukraine.
Gladkov later posted a short statement saying he had held talks with local authorities. He made no mention of the proposed meeting with members of the groups.
Ukraine denies direct involvement in the cross-border attacks but has cast them as a consequence of Russia’s invasion, predicting the rise of what it calls forces opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“These Russian men took up arms against their will. Soon they will understand the whole vileness and injustice of the war unleashed by Putin,” another Corps member who did not identify himself said in the video.
Gladkov said earlier on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had continued to shell his region overnight after two people were killed the previous evening and hundreds of children were evacuated away from the border.
– With CALEB DAVIS
